I thought I had a pretty conservative build up in my running which included a lot of double runs, rest days and easy running. Volume looked like this the past 9 weeks:

17 miles
18 miles
17 miles
29 miles
sick (2 weeks)
32 miles
39 miles
32 (was going to be 40)

The plan proved wrong as last Saturday, 2 miles into my long run I felt a bite on my left foot, except it wasn't a bug bite. I ended up walking all the way home and about 1/2 mile away from the house I had to have Amy come get me as the pain was over the top.

I thought I may have broken it but after four days of being off of it I don't think it's broken. I actually had a similar injury on the same foot years ago and was looking for that blog. I remember going to the doc and finding out it was actually a soleus injury related. Everything is connected and I think that's the source of the injury as I was just dealing with soleus issues about 6 weeks ago. So I'm just going to take this week off completely from running and swim/ride - which now confuses me even more...

As I mentioned last week, "the plan" was to just run in 2017 to free up as much time as possible for the family while still satisfying my competitive and fitness obsession. My new problem now is that after getting back in the water and on my bike, I forgot how much I enjoy the variety and disciplines. I'm seriously like an 18 year old kid that doesn't know what he wants in life haha. It's also a flashback to 2008 when I decided to get in shape again and train for a marathon, only to deal with injuries for 2 years and finally move over to triathlon. I might be rewinding the same story again.

So we'll see...Whether it's running or triathlon, I'm coming back to race in 2017 and really looking forward to it!

Our baby Juliet is doing really well and so is Amy. Amy, btw - pushed her out in 3 contractions like a #boss and was walking hours later. She's also excited to get back in running shape and start racing again so lots of fun/exciting Adams fitness goals in the house again - can't wait!

Wow, what an overwhelming response Amy and I received from our family and friends after last week's post. As hard as it was the first few days, we are completely at peace about Juliet's diagnosis. We cannot wait to raise her with love and even more with the right tools for her to have a great life. DS has had some breakthroughs and Glen Doman has had a lot to do with it. We are quickly becoming a student and will provide our baby girl with the best environment to succeed.

I think she is already on the same page. About 50% of DS babies have heart conditions at birth, she doesn't. Almost all have trouble eating, she doesn't. Most DS newborns feel limp and lack strength, she's already lifting her head up and is strong. I can already tell she is a fighter and having her around the past two weeks has already changed Amy and I for the better. So much LOVE!

The support has also been amazing. Our church and mom's club have been so good to us, providing us with meals the past 2 weeks, offering to take the older kids and so much words of encouragement and love poured out. That's what a community is all about and a big reason why we moved back to Temecula; which by the way, has so many special needs programs - we are truly blessed.

Switching gears now -besides our baby girl, I also changed jobs about 3 months ago which has allowed me to work from home. This has improved my quality of life tenfold. The 2-3 hours of commuting everyday really had an affect on me both personally and athletically. I've basically been very inconsistent and gained a good 10-15 pounds over the past 2 years of no racing. Motivation would come and go and the job/driving demands played a big part of that.

Now that I'm working from home, I've been able to get back to my love of endurance sports. I've lost 7 pounds and am up to running 40 miles/week. Through all of the running - I've also discovered the love that I had for it in my hs/college/post college days. With 4 kids now, I've also noticed how much of a time saver it is to run as opposed to adding swimming and cycling to the mix.

So for 2017 I will focus solely on running. I may jump into a few triathlons but my main focus will be the marathon. I've never run an open marathon (in shape). Qualifying for Boston is definitely a bucket list but I also have some lofty goals with running that I will share as fitness progresses.

Right now it's all about a lot of short double runs to increase mileage safely minimizing injury and I could still lose another 10 pounds to get in marathon "race weight." So when you see me in about 6 months, I am not doing drugs -rather, a running addiction!

I added a Strava widget to the blog, feel free to follow along my fitness progression! Next week I'll share my race schedule. As always, thanks for reading :)

Amy and I were blessed with our 4th child, Juliet. She was born with Down Syndrome on Thanksgiving day. Her middle name is Faith. I don't normally get personal or religious in the social media world but I have no doubt that the name we had picked out long ago and the fact that she was born on Thanksgiving day was a gift from God. To be thankful and faithful that she will be healthy and have an amazing impact on others.

Amazing she is. She has brought many people to tears - even without them knowing of her diagnosis. Amy and I found out the next day by a very special pediatrician (whom we'll never forget) and we were brought to tears. Tears of the unknown. 1 out of 700 in the US are born with Down Syndrome - we are quickly finding out that we were one of the lucky ones.

Within one week, I have made drastic changes in my life. I have this new relentless desire to be a better person. Better at everything. I imagine she will do the same to everyone she meets.

I'm 37 now and it's crazy to think that I've been competing (on and off) in endurance sports for almost 25 years! It's taken me this long to finally realize I've been doing it all wrong. Let me explain...

Bringing up the sun with Wattie Ink Punk!

If you relate my "strategy" in training/racing to playing poker - you could say that I've always been a very aggressive player. I've always taken training and racing so seriously to the point where it hurts me. Over-training, over-racing, over-thinking, caring too much, obsessed, etc. I've never just gone with the flow, put in the work and let the racing take care of itself. I've always put so much mental and physical energy into it which (looking back on it) has really wreaked havoc on my overall performance. Ask those that have trained with me in the past - they would probably say my performances don't always match up with the numbers I put up in training.

Well this time I'm approaching it all differently. I'm going to just put in the work and let my progression happen naturally instead of forcing it like I have in the past. I have such a peace while I'm out training now. I'm not obsessed with numbers, what race I'm going to do next, whether I'm doing too much or too little. It's actually making the sport fun again.

My progression is going slower then I'd like which is expected. I've lost a whopping 1/2 pound - most of that is because I lost like every muscle in my body - so I know I'm losing fat and gaining muscle so I'm cool with that. Right now I'm running 3-4 days/wk and riding 2-3 day/wk. I'm just going through the painful process of working out scar tissue from years of abuse and just dealing with feeling generally horrible in training which is also normal those first few months back.

Waking up early to train definitely has its perks. The smell of summer mornings, hot air balloons rising up into the air and the sun rising up over the beautiful Temecula foothills. It starts the day with a smile and an appreciation that I am still sweating and breathing hard 25 years later.

Well I'm about three weeks back into consistent training and I'm FINALLY starting to feel good, especially with running. Most of my weekdays consist of an early 5am wake up call so I can squeeze in a ride or run before my busy day starts.

5am is early no matter how you swing it but when you are motivated and excited about the sport again, it's a lot easier to get up. That's why I know this is for real this time. I get excited with every little improvement I'm seeing. Historically, I can usually get back into shape pretty quickly although I am now 37 years old and not in my early 30's the last time I did this (get fat/out of shape). Regardless, I'm only two years removed from being in the best triathlon shape of my life and I really can't wait to toe the line to race again. I'm targeting a little sprint race down in Mission Bay in October to make the comeback complete and then I will build into winter and go big with training to set myself up for a good 2017 season.

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the summer with friends and family. All Star Game, Monster Trucks, Del Mar Fair, golf, BBQ's, Temecula wineries and of course great beer. Cheers!

Wow, started this blog six years ago - so many good memories and I am SO glad I documented all of the good times both in life and sport. I am committing to blog again once/week to document my comeback to the sport - which I have found helps keep the motivation at a high level.

Most of you that follow the blog here (or when it was at Kona Journey) know that I've taken the past two years off of competing. I've had random "comebacks" or big blocks of training only to fall off for months at a time. The motivation would come and go just like the weeks would. I don't blame it on kids or jobs or anything but the desire just wasn't there. I poured my heart & soul into triathlon for a good four years and wouldn't take it back. Sure, it's only triathlon - why so intense? Well, I think it's very healthy for someone to have a passion for something other than work. It makes you feel alive, gives you other goals/accomplishments, camaraderie and the ability to compete - which often times dies after we are all grown up.

Well, looking back on it all being two years wiser...ha - I may have been a little too invested in what I was doing and with such HIGH expectations. Ironman CDA broke my heart, like big time. You put so much time and energy into something and when you fail, it's very hard to deal with. My solution was to walk away because I had zero desire to get in the water, on my bike or lace up ever again. I was done putting so much time into something with little returns. I have always been extremely hard on myself which didn't help my cause, especially with that being my FIRST Ironman.

However, looking back on it all - the journey is what made it all so special and I really miss creating the memories that I now look back on with such a warm heart. Training and competing makes me happy. I'm a happier person when sport is in my life. So what to do? Duuuuh, get back to work!

For me, motivation had to arrive on its own terms. I tried to force the issue many times the past two years with no luck. Well it's back and this time going in - I'm a lot wiser in so many areas both in my mental and training approach. I've had some consistency which I haven't seen in quite some time and I'm already looking at some races that I can start focusing on.

I thought about reaching out to some coaches but I have decided to be self-coached for now. The biggest thing about coaching is everybody is so unique and it takes years for a coach to really understand what works for an athlete so that they perform at their best. I am very aware of what works for me. To start my main focus is to consistently ride and run (very little swimming), lose the 10 pounds I've gained these past two years and slowly work my way into a "serious" training regimen. Summed up:

1. Ride/run consistently
2. Clean up diet
3. Less beer in my life (this will cause outrage with friends)
4. Have fun

I'm really looking forward to coming back to a sport that won my heart (even more then running). As always, thanks for reading and excited to start my new journey.

About Me

I'm a former "elite" runner that turned into a triathlete and have raced for the Wattie Ink team since 2012. After qualifying for IM 70.3 Worlds and having my "Kona Journey" documented in LAVA Magazine in 2014, I took a 3 year break and now document my journey back to fitness with a goal of breaking 2:40 in the marathon and breaking the Masters 4x800 World Record while taking care of my beautiful wife and four kids.